National Minorities Literature

(1,175 words)

Minzu wenxue (nationalities literature) is the short form for shaoshu minzu wenxue (national minorities literature), a term for which China claims exclusivity. Although a vivid discussion has taken place, especially during the 1980s, no agreement has been reached regarding a definition of the term beyond the ethnic belonging of the creators of this literature. In fact, this ethnic belonging is already problematic in itself: was the poet Sa Dula (1271-1368, Yanmen ji) a Mongol or a Hui, was Pu Songling (1640-1715, Liaozhai zhiyi) a Han or a Mongol, was the Chinese banner-man C…